Climate change center to be in Lower 9th Ward

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A $3.2 million center where people will learn about climate change and the threat of sea level rise is slated to be built in the Lower 9th Ward with federal and private dollars.

The center will be constructed near a floodwall that broke during Hurricane Katrina, unleashing a torrent of flood waters that destroyed the Lower 9th Ward.

The neighborhood is still largely empty but a series of pioneering ecological homes are being built there. The rebuilding efforts are being spearheaded by environmental groups like Global Green USA and the Make It Right Foundation.

Plans for the new climate change center are still being worked out, but Ruben Aronin, a Global Green spokesperson, said it would serve as a community center and perhaps include job training services, a restaurant and food store.

Aronin says federal economic stimulus dollars, the U.S. Department of Energy and Detroit-based Kresge Foundation are paying for the center, which is slated to open by the end of 2011.